33 ms·

Music for Programming

• sjclemmy 10y ago
  Love it. But I love Enterprise mode even more. What does that say about me? ;)
  • akerro 10y ago
    That... you like Enterprise mode? https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/68/af/48/68af48f62685d36378196eb504fca55b.jpg https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/68/af/48/68af48f62...
• guard-of-terra 10y ago
  Why specific music for programming? E.g. I mostly listen Caprice (the elvish one) for programming just because I like Caprice.
  • dagw 10y ago
    Lots of people, myself included, find it difficult to program (or concentrate on any mentally challenging task) while listening to certain types of music. Personally I'm partial to Norwegian Black metal for programming.
    • shocks 10y ago
      A second vote for black metal. Great for coding.
    • kafeltz 10y ago
      Could you provide some youtube link showing what you like to listen?
      • dagw 10y ago
        Windir is an example of a band I think works really well for coding: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0v805xBELTs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0v805xBELTs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IW6h0lhXW3Q https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IW6h0lhXW3Q
    • roddux 10y ago
      I looked for a while to see who else listens to metal for programming! Glad to know I'm not the only one.
    • fapjacks 10y ago
      You might enjoy Agalloch, or maybe you already know about them!
• blowski 10y ago
  I listen to these a lot of the time, because most of them are pure electronic music with a beat, which is the most productivity-inducing music for me. A few have some speaking, so I don't listen to them.
• Mayzie 10y ago
  The website is far too slow to load. :-(
  • galfarragem 10y ago
    Actually, in a normal day, it's very fast. However not all sites are prepared to hit #1 on HN..
• faraggi 10y ago
  ...slightly of subject: I love programming with classical music. Classic guitar music in particular, but any classical will do. I rarely listen to classical other than when driving or when coding.
  • thorin 10y ago
    Are you a fan of Paco de Lucia by any chance? I love Entre dos aguas.
    • faraggi 10y ago
      I am, and I do as well.
  • Dowwie 10y ago
    Ludovico Einaudi.
  • kubami 10y ago
    Yes! I'd recommend Rodrigo y Gabriela. In paricular albums '11:11' and 'Rodrigo y Gabriela'.
• greydius 10y ago
  I have my own "playlist" for programming and studying. I've found the key to not being distracted by the music is to avoid anything with singing and stick with stuff that's already familiar. My choices include a lot of ambient electronic and classical music. Oddly, metal also seems to work when the lyrics are completely indecipherable growls and screams.
  • dancek 10y ago
    Music in a foreign language works for me almost as well as instrumental music. If I hear Finnish, I somehow must listen to the words, but even though I'm proficient in English, I can just let the words go by without thinking about them. I'm sure this phenomenon has a name, but I don't know it. Another aspect is that I can read English (focusing on that) and listen to Finnish at the same time, and I'll remember both what I heard and what I read. Doesn't work the other way around, or if both are the same language.
  • TeMPOraL 10y ago
    > I've found the key to not being distracted by the music is to avoid anything with singing and stick with stuff that's already familiar. For me it's just the latter; vocals don't distract me as long as the song is something I've listened to 20+ times before. Curiously, I need to match the music to my mood, not the other way around! Any disconnect between how I feel and what is playing gets me distracted very quickly. So some times, I'll be listening to calm ambient, other times I'll be blasting power metal (or even playing some nightcore from youtube). But it's always the mood that sets the music, not the other way around.
• stomato 10y ago
  I really like the idea, but am unsure about execution. For example, datassette starts off with big differences in volume: http://musicforprogramming.net/?three http://musicforprogramming.net/?three I've been listening at work for years and what works for me is: Dark (in minor) soundtracks (electronica and classical). Classic rock (usually in minor) that has a mostly consistent sound. and various types of white (and other colored) noise in https://mynoise.net/ https://mynoise.net/ (where I donate so there are no limitations) I used to listen to Pandora and other stations, but I found the transitions and switching songs would get distracting, so now I just listen to the same set of songs on loop.
• maffydub 10y ago
  The website timed out on me, but... For me, it's got to be techno - generally happy hardcore - fast, repetitive beats and uplifting but inane (and hence not distracting) lyrics. (I may be the only one. ;) )
  • t3ra 10y ago
    Probably the site got HN-ed. Timing out for me as well
  • stuaxo 10y ago
    I quite like harsh breakcore from time to time, especially in noisy offices. Stuff like Venetian snares - since it's so mental it you have to raise your game to work with / against it.
    • Pokepokalypse 10y ago
      Yes, that and the inevitable Aphex Twin. And another dude from Belgium who goes by "Igorrr" - who gets me motivated, but sometimes, I can't get through research or dense text when I'm listening to this stuff. It's a different kind of "focus", and for that, I generally need absolute silence.
  • taneq 10y ago
    Same, I've got the entirety of the PaulWay mixes (http://mabula.net/mixes/ http://mabula.net/mixes/) on shuffle. Been using them for a couple of years now, not every track is good for every day but if one's not working out I just hit 'next'.
    • maffydub 10y ago
      Thanks for the recommendation - I'll check those out. I mainly listen to the Bonkers and Hardcore Til I Die mixes (and occasionally older stuff like Dreamscape and Slammin Vinyl).
• eswat 10y ago
  I have two rules when I’m listening to music while programming: 1. My favourite genres are K-Pop and Industrial – it helps that they are also very energetic genres — and my rule is that I can only listen to them while programming. Helps to really put me in the “you’re working now” space (thanks to Julian Shapiro for this tip) 2. I pick one song and repeat it for the entire day, sometimes for several days in a row. I’ve listened songs in the above genres so much that the lyrics don’t become much of a distraction, including new ones.
  • stevetrewick 10y ago
    >pick one song and repeat it for the entire day I also do this, one or a very short playlist of very similar stuff. Seems to help keep my mind locked into a particular state all day/work period. Currently long Daft Punk tracks are doing it for me.
    • Klathmon 10y ago
      The Alive '97 album is perfect for that if you like Daft Punk.
      • aleksei 10y ago
        Hey, way too good an album to listen to while coding :)
    • scholia 10y ago
      I sort of do this, but I pick one CD. Usually it's Keith Jarrett but Bach works as well. Especially the harpsichord concertos.
      • none_for_me_thx 10y ago
        or Keith Jarrett playing Shostakovich's Preludes and Fugues?
        • 10y ago
• premasagar 10y ago
  A little playlist: https://open.spotify.com/user/premasagar/playlist/23HecvNHK1xggp4PMZUc6T https://open.spotify.com/user/premasagar/playlist/23HecvNHK1...
• Philipp__ 10y ago
  I really like to listen to dub techno while programming. It is repetitive, no vocals, long songs (8-10min), relaxed vibe with not a lot of going on, yet very nice and ambiental.
  • reitanqild 10y ago
    I'll try that I guess. For now I use trance, anything that is happy or energetic, harmonic and wih no words. I have a long playlist that someone created on Spotify with this kind of trance.
    • Philipp__ 10y ago
      Here is my playlist, give it a try: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3UrAoLiXuqI_3Cre-cQp94BoW9oCXENY https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3UrAoLiXuqI_3Cre-cQp... I like it a lot for night coding :) Hope you enjoy.
    • damson 10y ago
      For trance (or a lot of other electronic music genres), [di.fm](http://www.di.fm/trance/ http://www.di.fm/trance/) is nice for when you can't be bothered to select a playlist etc. Edit: [ah.fm](http://ah.fm/player/ http://ah.fm/player/) is also good for trance.
  • JonnieCache 10y ago
    Chain Reaction Records FTW https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUWXoGTMePo&list=PLB851A38A66151EF6 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUWXoGTMePo&list=PLB851A38A6... If you want it more boring even than that you could go for some drone music from the likes of Thomas Köner or Celer, or Gas. Beyond that lies field recording.
    • Philipp__ 10y ago
      Reactor Room is great too! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0lMim6e6SCM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0lMim6e6SCM
• Inversechi 10y ago
  For me I find SomaFM good for working - http://somafm.com/player/#/now-playing/missioncontrol http://somafm.com/player/#/now-playing/missioncontrol - http://somafm.com/player/#/now-playing/defcon http://somafm.com/player/#/now-playing/defcon - http://somafm.com/player/#/now-playing/cliqhop http://somafm.com/player/#/now-playing/cliqhop
  • forgetsusername 10y ago
    Multiple Soma FM recommendations in the thread. That's great to see. I pay for a monthly "subscription", because it's one of those things that, if it disappeared tomorrow, would be upsetting and impossible to replace. I use it daily.
    • nsomaru 10y ago
      Yes, extremely happy that it's available to those of us outside of EU|US unlike that other popular music service appearing on this thread. Yes; tunnel, VPN. But why?
      • radiorental 10y ago
        you might also like http://oem-radio.org/ http://oem-radio.org/
  • sterwill 10y ago
    http://somafm.com/player/#/now-playing/dronezone http://somafm.com/player/#/now-playing/dronezone is my favorite for writing code.
  • smnscu 10y ago
    Thank for the recommendation. I created an iTunes playlist with all the SomaFM stations, in the highest bitrate available. (File > Library > Import Playlist) https://gist.github.com/andreis/bae8432469f59bc7287fe7264fe49eb0 https://gist.github.com/andreis/bae8432469f59bc7287fe7264fe4...
    • 10y ago
• deleted 10y ago
  [deleted]
• hdkesting 10y ago
  Nobody mentioned http://musictocodeby.net http://musictocodeby.net yet
• forgetsusername 10y ago
  This is great, thanks. I'm going to plug Soma FM, since it's been my go-to music provider for studying since University, and carried into work. They have many genres and stations, most of which have no lyrics. No affiliation, I just love what they do. https://somafm.com/ https://somafm.com/
  • fapjacks 10y ago
    WOW! SomaFM is still around!? I used to stream SomaFM for programming way back in 2004. That's pretty amazing.
• Dowwie 10y ago
  give Ludovico Einaudi a try: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ImZTkeCHgA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ImZTkeCHgA
• croon 10y ago
  I assume the names on the compilations are the artists/people selecting the music? I love seeing Datasette on there (multiple times in fact). Listened a lot to him.
  • quarterto 10y ago
    It's Datasette that created the site
    • croon 10y ago
      Oh wow, cool!
  • feiss 10y ago
    I think he's the owner of the site
• trainsarefast 10y ago
  You all know that this is the only valid music for programming: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1Ds9CeG-VY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1Ds9CeG-VY
  • andy_ppp 10y ago
    Haha! I thought it was going to be this... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W5fM6WpC_nE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W5fM6WpC_nE Same same. I love this remix of the Voodoo People that's on the b-side by the chemical brothers (who were calling themselves the dust brothers at the time...): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NT5VkFnU554 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NT5VkFnU554
• flavor8 10y ago
  I highly recommend openlab (1) as an alternative to soma. http://openlab.fm http://openlab.fm http://ice04.fluidstream.net/openlab.mp3 http://ice04.fluidstream.net/openlab.mp3 (1 - Interestingly, started by Robert Miles, the producer responsible for the 90s pop-trance classic 'Children'. His musical sophistication has advanced quite significantly since then.)
  • davnicwil 10y ago
    Thanks! To try to repay - if you're not already aware of it - perhaps you'll enjoy http://www.berlincommunityradio.com/ http://www.berlincommunityradio.com/
• OberstKrueger 10y ago
  Along with some of the other great suggestions here, soundtracks by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross have been mainstays for me. Throw in some Nine Inch Nails' Ghosts and you have a nice dark soundtrack for working to.
  • uryga 10y ago
    that The Social Network soundtrack, oooooh yes
• snvzz 10y ago
  Spotted mp3, quickly closed. Can't take it seriously if it's still using mp3 rather than opus. What a waste of bandwidth.
  • joeberon 10y ago
    This is the saddest comment I've ever seen. please get help
• codeape 10y ago
  Nice. Has anyone tried the tracks from Music To Code By (http://mtcb.pwop.com/ http://mtcb.pwop.com/) ? I bought a few of them and IMO they are nice. The tracks are all 25 minutes in length.
  • pionar 10y ago
    I love these. Very good for background music, and they're repetitious, which works for me. My wife, however, is a classical/jazz musician, so she can't use music to focus, it causes her anxiety because she spends time analyzing the music. She tends to listen to ambient noise playlists (rain, etc.)
• shocks 10y ago
  I'm currently listening to https://somafm.com/defcon/ https://somafm.com/defcon/ and it's doing it for me.
• deleted 10y ago
  [deleted]
• tribeofone 10y ago
  di.fm, http://www.di.fm http://www.di.fm 90 different kinds of electronic music, current favorite for programming is: http://www.di.fm/melodicprogressive http://www.di.fm/melodicprogressive
  • itsmeduncan 10y ago
    Plus one to di.fm. They've been around forever and have great channels.
• pklausler 10y ago
  Baroque concerti work for me: Bach, Corelli, Handel, Buxtehude, &c.
• LeonM 10y ago
  For me, the "The social network" OST by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross always works: https://open.spotify.com/album/1ijkFiMeHopKkHyvQCWxUa https://open.spotify.com/album/1ijkFiMeHopKkHyvQCWxUa
  • leftnode 10y ago
    Similarly, the OST to the movie Mr. Brooks is really good.
• alexmorenodev 10y ago
  I listen to dozen of different guitarists. Jason Richardson and Jeff Loomis are my favorite now. Also, check the entire discography of Vinnie Moore. I'm into retrowave lately. Perturbator and Dance with the Dead make my fingers start moving by their own.
• dep_b 10y ago
  I like to listen to stuff like minimalistic Detroit techno mixes from people like Jeff Mills or Robert Hood. Loopy simple techno that slightly changes over the course of minutes while blending in and out of the previous and next song in a subtle way. Yet it's quite hard and energetic compared to most Berlin styles of minimalistic techno. Lately I've been picking up on retro Wave kind of music, I see Com Truise is on the list as well. It's slightly less annoying for other people since there's still something like a melodic component but it doesn't have too much of a build up to a massive drop thing that most EDM has. It rather continues all the time in rhythm.
  • clydethefrog 10y ago
    I really get inspired by the ideas of Detroit techno that they put into the music. Especially Jeff Mills, he really is an artist in the broadest meaning. It is curious that Detroit techno never really became popular music for the programming scene, since it's themes are related. >Detroit techno is also scary music, scary precisely because its unforgiving repetition reminds us of our immersion in remorseless mechanised, computerised systems. Detroit fetishises this relationship: take drugs, jack your body to the rhythm of the machines From Techno Futurism (1998) http://www.harikunzru.com/art-and-music/jeff-mills-techno-futurism-1998 http://www.harikunzru.com/art-and-music/jeff-mills-techno-fu...
    • pimeys 10y ago
      Detroit techno was extremely popular in Europe, still is. We wouldn't have Berlin in its current cultural state without the Detroit stars. How it never became a thing in US is another question, where I can just guess the real reasons. Maybe dance music needed a whitewashing before it became a trend.
  • pimeys 10y ago
    Detroit-y, but not from Detroit: Aril Brikha, who recorded for two legendary labels Transmat and Peacefrog. Both of his albums are great. Kenny Larkin, whatever he released, must have. Again not from Detroit, but sharing the same vibe: Luke Slater and all his monikers, like Planetary Assault Systems, L.B. Dub Corp and The 7th Plain. All classics. Some less played, but still great Detroit stars: Claude Young and Octave One. Dig in! https://hardwax.com/detroit/ https://hardwax.com/detroit/
• louthy 10y ago
  When programming I need music to be something I know already, but it can be any style - just enough to keep my overactive brain in check! I'm a DJ too [1], so I have plenty of long sets of music (no iterruptions, no gaps), that can really help when I need to plough through a difficult chunk of work. Currently on rotation (and has been for a while) is the Tekkonkinkreet soundtrack [2]. So beautiful, but also hypnotic (the film is amazing too): [1] https://soundcloud.com/paullouth https://soundcloud.com/paullouth [2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WixQfMABnFA&list=PLCE193349FF6D00BA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WixQfMABnFA&list=PLCE193349F...
  • corey_moncure 10y ago
    Thanks so much for introducing me to this artist!
• mcphilip 10y ago
  I rarely listen to music while programming, but when I do, it's usually Megadeth for trivial work or Ashkenazy playing Chopin - Bercuse for complex work. Possibly swapping Sigur Ros () for Chopin. I search on YouTube for a URL and throw it in YouTube repeater.
• parthdesai 10y ago
  I usually listen to a set on SoundCloud. Progression of the set instead of one song completely stopping and next song playing helps me from getting distracted. I prefer either trance or techno These songs being instrumental seems to keep me focused.
• rads 10y ago
  I recently discovered the work of Laurie Spiegel, whom I now have great respect for. My personal favorite song by her is the opener from her only album "The Expanding Universe": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rN3uYELX8iQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rN3uYELX8iQ Regardless of whether you fall in love with the music, it's worth knowing about her as a pioneer of computing. And yes, she also happens to be a woman. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laurie_Spiegel https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laurie_Spiegel > Best known for her use of interactive and algorithmic logic as part of the compositional process, Spiegel worked with Buchla and Electronic Music Laboratories synthesizers and subsequently many early, often experimental and prototype-level music and image generation systems, including GROOVE system (1973–1978), Alles Machine (1977) and Max Mathews's RTSked and John R. Pierce tunings (1984, later known as the Bohlen–Pierce scale) at Bell Labs, the alphaSyntauri for the Apple II (1978–1981), the McLeyvier (1981–1985).
  • stuartmalcolm 10y ago
    Wow! Excellent. Thanks
• Jaruzel 10y ago
  Classical for me. Typically Baroque i.e. Bach. If I'm not in a classical mood, then anything electronic without lyrics - Tangerine Dream, Jean Michel Jarre, Vangelis etc. And, I kid ye not, Star Trek: The Motion Picture Soundtrack.
• jason_slack 10y ago
  I listen to the "Focus" music from Brain.fm. Works on all my devices and allows for offline content too.
  • rbjorklin 10y ago
    I do this too. Feels like it's working.
    • jason_slack 10y ago
      Yup, it feels like it for me too.
  • Gatsky 10y ago
    I use this aswell. They just released an iphone app.
    • jason_slack 10y ago
      Yup, I started using it yesterday. I can't wait to have some offline content to take with me.
• flanbiscuit 10y ago
  A few other redditors and I maintain a playlist of Downtempo (mostly) non-vocal electronic music specifically targeted towards developers. It's an open playlist so feel free to contribute! https://open.spotify.com/user/fgutz/playlist/3dBiKJSoAQ6msoYzl99wp2 https://open.spotify.com/user/fgutz/playlist/3dBiKJSoAQ6msoY... spotify:user:fgutz:playlist:3dBiKJSoAQ6msoYzl99wp2
  • thirdsun 10y ago
    Since it was well received the last time I mentioned it in a similar discussion I light as well showcase my "Early Morning Tales" - Playlist containing ambient/drone/downtempo which I think is very suitable programming and other tasks that require focus. Listen here: https://open.spotify.com/user/michaelfeihstel/playlist/10IcCKVkCGNm8AarT487GA https://open.spotify.com/user/michaelfeihstel/playlist/10IcC...
  • gdrulia 10y ago
    is there a way to see the list without logging in to spotify? Non-vocal electronic seems like my cup of tea for when I'm working.
    • mnx 10y ago
      CSV of all the tracks: https://fzak.pl/FILEZ/codersplaylist.csv https://fzak.pl/FILEZ/codersplaylist.csv Youtube playlist of some of the tracks: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOEg5uEc0bD0wwIEEKTNcoii-II_zG0Et https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOEg5uEc0bD0wwIEEKTNc...
      • flanbiscuit 10y ago
        This is awesome! thanks for doing this! Also I should note that because it's an open playlist sometimes some music gets in that I personally don't agree should be on there but I can see why maybe someone else would put it there. I don't aggressively police it the list but once in a while I'll remove something that obviously doesn't fit
  • sonar_un 10y ago
• polmuz 10y ago
  I've been using soundtracks from The Sims and SimCity, mostly by Jerry Martin, it's great as background music. https://play.spotify.com/user/polmuz/playlist/6ehsMsq82TeDa9ylM81qTK https://play.spotify.com/user/polmuz/playlist/6ehsMsq82TeDa9...
  • Sohakes 10y ago
    Funny, didn't expect someone else to listen that.
• elt0n 10y ago
  Are the player buttons supposed to work?
  • elt0n 10y ago
    I'm thinking there's not enough bandwidth and the files can't load.
• seanwasere 10y ago
  this is my music playlist on youtube. very dynamic selection. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKWUX7aMnlEK3edghsEnSyBU7FjosH0qd https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKWUX7aMnlEK3edghsEnS...
• teddyh 10y ago
  I would suggest Void Main’s album “Deadlock” – it’s the only music I know with a programming theme as well as being mostly instrumental and made for listening while programming. It used to be available on the old mp3.com (at http://artists.mp3s.com/artists/241/void_main.htm http://artists.mp3s.com/artists/241/void_main.htm), but MP3.com was killed many ages ago. The artist still has the album cover and the tracks available on his home page, though. Note especially “Escape Sequence” which has authentic C++ programming sounds, and “Follow the GNU” with lyrics by Richard Stallman. http://www.grubblarna.com/voidmain/deadlock.jpg http://www.grubblarna.com/voidmain/deadlock.jpg http://www.grubblarna.com/voidmain/Void%20Main%20-%20Another%20World.mp3 http://www.grubblarna.com/voidmain/Void%20Main%20-%20Another... http://www.grubblarna.com/voidmain/Void%20Main%20-%20Artificial%20Recreation%20(Altair%20Remix).mp3 http://www.grubblarna.com/voidmain/Void%20Main%20-%20Artific... http://www.grubblarna.com/voidmain/Void%20Main%20-%20Artificial%20Recreation.mp3 http://www.grubblarna.com/voidmain/Void%20Main%20-%20Artific... http://www.grubblarna.com/voidmain/Void%20Main%20-%20Escape%20Sequence.mp3 http://www.grubblarna.com/voidmain/Void%20Main%20-%20Escape%... http://www.grubblarna.com/voidmain/Void%20Main%20-%20Follow%20the%20GNU%20(feat%20R.M.Stallman).mp3 http://www.grubblarna.com/voidmain/Void%20Main%20-%20Follow%... http://www.grubblarna.com/voidmain/Void%20Main%20-%20Hello%20World.mp3 http://www.grubblarna.com/voidmain/Void%20Main%20-%20Hello%2... http://www.grubblarna.com/voidmain/Void%20Main%20-%20I%20Took%20the%20Red%20Pill.mp3 http://www.grubblarna.com/voidmain/Void%20Main%20-%20I%20Too... http://www.grubblarna.com/voidmain/Void%20Main%20-%20Internal%20Compiler%20Error.mp3 http://www.grubblarna.com/voidmain/Void%20Main%20-%20Interna... http://www.grubblarna.com/voidmain/Void%20Main%20-%20Kernel%20Calling.mp3 http://www.grubblarna.com/voidmain/Void%20Main%20-%20Kernel%... http://www.grubblarna.com/voidmain/Void%20Main%20-%20Penguin%20Planet%20(Authentic%20Edit).mp3 http://www.grubblarna.com/voidmain/Void%20Main%20-%20Penguin... http://www.grubblarna.com/voidmain/Void%20Main%20-%20Penguin%20Planet.mp3 http://www.grubblarna.com/voidmain/Void%20Main%20-%20Penguin... http://www.grubblarna.com/voidmain/Void%20Main%20-%20There%20Is%20No%20Spoon.mp3 http://www.grubblarna.com/voidmain/Void%20Main%20-%20There%2... http://www.grubblarna.com/voidmain/Void%20Main%20-%20Use%20the%20Source.mp3 http://www.grubblarna.com/voidmain/Void%20Main%20-%20Use%20t... http://www.grubblarna.com/voidmain/anotherworld_lime_remix.mp3 http://www.grubblarna.com/voidmain/anotherworld_lime_remix.m...
  • dmoo 10y ago
• meira 10y ago
  I recommend "Post Rock" on youtube.
• rgun 10y ago
  I have found spotify 'Deep Focus' playlist [0] to be quite helpful. Sometimes I also listen to movies' and tv shows' soundtracks [1] while working on the frontend (HTML/CSS) [0] https://open.spotify.com/user/spotify/playlist/2ujjMpFriZ2nayLmrD1Jgl https://open.spotify.com/user/spotify/playlist/2ujjMpFriZ2na... [1] https://open.spotify.com/user/11142792696/playlist/2UtWdCTOxQeyKuXZDVYcZT https://open.spotify.com/user/11142792696/playlist/2UtWdCTOx...
• joeberon 10y ago
  Just whack on some Future: https://open.spotify.com/album/0fUy6IdLHDpGNwavIlhEsl https://open.spotify.com/album/0fUy6IdLHDpGNwavIlhEsl
• veza 10y ago
  Man I love this subject. For me music is to code what condiments are to food. It gives aroma. It also helps me get/stay in the zone and boost productivity. Only listen to electronic music, but depending on the mood very different: - Stressed? => ambient, glitch (like Tim Hecker) calms me down - Unmotivated/Mind Wandering? => some old school goa trance picks me up (like Shakta) - On a normal day => maybe psybient (CBL, Solar Fields...) or some modern progressive (Frisky radio has some good stuff) New stuff doesn't bother me, but words/verses do, hence there are almost none in what I listen.
• sritrisna 10y ago
  I love youarelistening.to's concept: http://youarelistening.to/newyork http://youarelistening.to/newyork. Keeps me comfort during late night coding sessions.
• aaronhoffman 10y ago
  iTunes link https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/music-for-programming/id500565620 https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/music-for-programming/id...
• Klibarchu 10y ago
  I heart radio has local radio stations so I can listen to my favorite station over the air or thru streaming, via my PC, mobile device or Apple TV.
• partcoffee 10y ago
  What seems to work best for me is ambient electronic stuff (Hol Baumann, Solar Fields etc.) with Rainy Mood (rain sounds) playing over it. Something about the mix of the music and the constant background noise kicks my brain into concentration mode. And then I lose track of time and suddenly it's dark and I've missed a couple of meetings.
• JangleBarney 10y ago
  I just rock this, https://open.spotify.com/user/123106991/playlist/2qurSPeHRlobb3tO6XUa8C https://open.spotify.com/user/123106991/playlist/2qurSPeHRlo...
• felideon 10y ago
  Brain.fm has worked wonders for me, and in a double way: 1) Their sounds waves purport to actually flip some switches in your brain that help you focus. 2) It's an awesome trigger to get into "productive mode" if you start the habit. The focus loop is great and you can try different ambiences and music (EDM and "cinematic").
• ronjouch 10y ago
  Shameless plug to a YouTube playlist I made a few years ago to share my favorite pieces of "music for work" to a friend: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMnZa55isA8&list=PLf8nKJTmIHjB3II7p_ld_94FdRnKyASZt https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMnZa55isA8&list=PLf8nKJTmIH...
• jonahrd 10y ago
  I'm surprised by the number of people saying they can't listen to anything with lyrics while they program! Not that there's anything wrong with it, it's just never a problem for me, I'll listen to just about anything
• Graham24 10y ago
  I find Jazz to be quite helpful. Miles Davis (Milestones, etc) or John Coltrane (A Love Supreme, etc) works for me. Failing that The Orb.
• jwl 10y ago
  For me it is Nectarine Demoscene Radio at https://www.scenemusic.net/demovibes/ https://www.scenemusic.net/demovibes/ Something about all the blip-blops that sets the right mindset.
• patrickmay 10y ago
  John Cage's 4' 33'' Seriously, I don't like noise when I'm in the flow.
• bit-shifter 10y ago
  I've been a long time fan of the music produced by autechre. When I really need to isolate myself from the outside world to concentrate on a difficult problem, the go-to choice is Incunabula. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incunabula_(album) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incunabula_(album) I'm not sure whether it's my absolute familiarity with the album, or that fact that it bears listening to on repeat.
  • makmanalp 10y ago
    Agree with Aphex Twin - you may dislike it, but it's hard to call it uninteresting. Not sure if that album would work as work music for me though, it's not quiet and calm - it's just varying and loud enough to attract my attention but not quite beat-y to keep me going either. It's interesting to see different opinions on this :D
    • bit-shifter 10y ago
      The ambient works albums do the trick for me - the music melts into the background whilst working, yet is still enough to keep me alert.
  • pimeys 10y ago
    Have you listened to Warp Records more than just the Autechre releases (which are of course superb)? Every single album in the Artificial Intelligence series (including the first Autechre) are genre-defining classics. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artificial_Intelligence_(series) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artificial_Intelligence_(serie...
    • bit-shifter 10y ago
      Yes, Warp have influenced my music tastes a great deal. ae, BOC, plaid, aphex twin (and his many guises), squarepusher and µ-ziq are all staples. Another album I listen to a great deal whilst working: https://warp.net/releases/blech-ii-blechsdottir/ https://warp.net/releases/blech-ii-blechsdottir/ That said, I have varied taste, grind-core, industrial and doom all feature in the mix. edit: added plaid - can't believe I missed them out, as they're one of my favourite artists.
• toomanybeersies 10y ago
  I used to listen to Writhem Radio when it was on Grooveshark, and then when it moved to plug.dj, which was then shut down (and has apparently been relaunched). It always had great music for programming, and some great chat too. I really miss it. Because of Writhem Radio, I've become a big fan of Outrun/Retrowave.
• mangeletti 10y ago
  I've listened to Brain.fm since this past February, and it is truly amazing. They have Focus, Relax, and Sleep, but I've only ever listened to Focus. It's like this steady stream of some kind of electronically generated music that changes each 30 minutes. I set it to 2 hours, and then I usually take a small break when it ends. I'll turn it on and literally get into the zone immediately; writing line after line of code without even realizing how quickly I'm working. It's like getting on a train to the Matrix or something. Link: http://brain.fm/ http://brain.fm/
  • messutied 10y ago
    Trying it, pretty cool! thanks
  • lordnacho 10y ago
    Wow, great link. This is just what I've been looking for. One does wonder how much of it is expectation effect. I mean if I didn't know the Benny Hill tune and it was labelled "focus" would it still work?
    • mangeletti 10y ago
      I don't think it is a placebo effect for me, because there were times when it was less effective, based on the track that it started with - or when I would hear a specific set of tracks too many times and begin to recognize the patterns too closely. At a point mid-summer, the effectiveness wore down for a while - I even asked Aaron (one of the founders, but also available via their little support window in the corner) about adding new tracks to Focus, which I'm sure others had also requested, because they added a bunch of new tracks and it became even more effective than before. They also seem to have removed some of the tracks that weren't very effective.
  • doneallison 10y ago
    I have also been loving Brain.fm—no other "focus music" I have tried has worked so well. If anyone here tries it and likes it, there is actually a pretty good discount on various subscription types that expires in a few hours: https://shop.theawesomer.com/sales/brain-fm-lifetime-subscription https://shop.theawesomer.com/sales/brain-fm-lifetime-subscri... The discounts are not actually as steep as the site claims (for example, lifetime is normally $150, not $200), but they are still quite good.
• zedzedb5 10y ago
  http://www.radio-paralax.de/index1.html http://www.radio-paralax.de/index1.html - old school video game remixes. Something about these do it for me.
• triMichael 10y ago
  Solar Fields, the group that made the music for the video game Mirror's Edge, is one of my favorite groups for programming.
  • smtf 10y ago
    I've been listening to Mirror's Edge OST while programming for weeks now, never thought to look for who created that sound track. Thanks!
    • triMichael 10y ago
      Sure! I found Solar Fields by looking for Mirror's Edge remixes and stumbled onto whole songs. Solar Fields has several albums, it's a massive group and I think it's just one guy. Also recently found there is a sister group called H.U.V.A. Network that's pretty good too but has a slower and darker feel.
      • makmanalp 10y ago
        Yes! Many early-morning lines of code were written to the Ephemeris album! Especially Something Heavens!
  • fapjacks 10y ago
    Solar Fields is one dude, Magnus Birgersson. He's also from the same city (Goteborg, Sweden) as Carbon-Based Lifeforms. There's something in the water!
• _JamesA_ 10y ago
  I really enjoy the selection at Calm Radio [1], especially the instrumental and classical channels. You can also mix in backgrounds and "Atmosphere" (white noise) to create the perfect ambiance. [1]: https://calmradio.com/en/ https://calmradio.com/en/
• kzisme 10y ago
  I wish there was a community input based Spotify playlist - since I generally use that for all of my music needs across devices. I do realize many people have different tastes, but most of the time people can find a happy medium. Here is the closest playlist I can find to that curated by a single person: https://open.spotify.com/user/johanbrook/playlist/2mtlhuFVOFMn6Ho3JmrLc2 https://open.spotify.com/user/johanbrook/playlist/2mtlhuFVOF...
• guessmyname 10y ago
  After years of visiting this website to listen to good remixes while I write code I feared the day when someone would link it to HN because I knew before hand that it would make it inaccessible. Go damn it people! Y U Do Dis ಠ_ಠ
  • krylon 10y ago
    I think it was posted on HN before. I think I recall that was how I first found it.
    • 4ndr3vv 10y ago
      Just a few times: https://news.ycombinator.com/from?site=musicforprogramming.net https://news.ycombinator.com/from?site=musicforprogramming.n...
  • rahiel 10y ago
    If there's something on the internet you love, you should make a (local) copy of it. Online content can disappear anytime.
  • travmatt 10y ago
    Their tracks are also available as podcasts. I've downloaded several and shuffle between them.
• brianzelip 10y ago
  oh man, this thread is chock full of great suggestions, thanks a bunch all!
  • prefect42 10y ago
    Yes, this thread is golden, think I just expanded my consciousness ;-)
• 3chelon 10y ago
  Does anyone know of any actual conclusive studies in this area? Like most here, I have my own rules and preferences. The main rule seems to be it must be familiar, in fact it's best if I've heard it a thousand times already. But there are only three kinds of music that work for me:- 1. Music I first got into during my teenage years when I was sitting up all night coding assembler (OK, I admit it, Pink Floyd) works well because I think my mind is conditioned in an almost Pavlovian way to go into programming mode when I hear it; 2. Ambient EDM works well because it is very repetitive and doesn't have any strong lyrical structure - my trouble is, as an old fart, I find only a very small subset of the vast range of EDM that I actually like. 3. A certain kind of loud, wall-of-sound rock music which is very heavy on distortion with subdued vocals works well but only at night. Received opinion says classical music is good for cognitive tasks, and I've tried over the years but never good great results.
  • felideon 10y ago
    Closest I've seen has been Brain.fm's stuff: https://brain.fm/app?v=7827#!/learn/BrainFMWhitePaper.pdf https://brain.fm/app?v=7827#!/learn/BrainFMWhitePaper.pdf
  • closed 10y ago
    I can only speak from the angle of memory/attention research, but a couple lines of study struck me. 1. Irrelevant speech / sounds tends to reduce memory capacity for the task at hand[a]. 2. People with ADHD self-stimulate by, e.g, squirming. Music can help them with attentional tasks by providing stimulation [b]. Overall, I'm not that familiar with studies specifically on music, but I'd guess that it's a trade-off between arousal (e.g. rock music or something to pump you up) and dividing attention. Music could also set a context (e.g. put you in programming "mode"), which tends to have a small positive effect on performance on a number of cognitive tasks. [a] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irrelevant_speech_effect https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irrelevant_speech_effect [b] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Low_arousal_theory https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Low_arousal_theory
    • Klathmon 10y ago
      I have ADHD, and it's really difficult to describe to people how the "self stimulation" works. It's almost like I need to keep part of my brain busy so the other "quieter" part can work. Music, driving, pacing around, and to a lesser extent fidgeting or tapping can all "placate" that part of my brain so the other can actually do work. I'll even do things like play music while listening to a talk or presentation while working, because without the music keeping me "busy" I just can't focus on the topic of the talk.
• kubami 10y ago
  I have been listening to Civilization 6 soundtrack recently. It all-instrumental. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cb922Sry_DI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cb922Sry_DI
• dyml 10y ago
  Listen to the Cloud - I listen to a nice mix of Ambient music and ATC radio chatter at http://listentothe.cloud http://listentothe.cloud. I built this a couple of days ago and topped at /r/programming
  • georgehotelling 10y ago
    Thank you for making this! I found it on reddit and have been really surprised how much the air traffic background helps me focus.
• mikegerwitz 10y ago
  I used to listen to various types of classical music on moderate-to-low volume, but I found that on average, it has a negative impact on flow. My mind gets into a cadence with the music (I'm sure there's a term; I don't know it), and that cadence can be devastating for certain types of problems, and often leads to deep stress or frustration and the complete inability to focus at its worst. Even music/sounds that are good for meditation can be detrimental. My mind is chaotic, and I find that to be extremely positive. Perhaps it's possible that if the problems I'm dealing with are similar enough that such cadence would be beneficial---it does trigger memories and some even nostalgia. These days, I have too many diverse issues that it's just safe to be in silence, though I find that the white noise of my (loud) forced air system (heat/AC) provides a fairly positive effect. Yet white/pink noise does not. Does anyone have any suggestions there?
• ansible 10y ago
  These days I'm listening to friskyradio.com. Lots of electronic in different styles from around the world, including ambient.
• p0nce 10y ago
  I'm listening to this same 2 hours mix for years: https://soundcloud.com/cid-inc/cid-inc-artist-of-the-week https://soundcloud.com/cid-inc/cid-inc-artist-of-the-week It has become an anchor that always puts me in mood for deep work.
  • solutionyogi 10y ago
    This is an unbelievable mix. Non vocal electronic music with perfect tempo and transitions. Thank you so much. I bought my brain.fm subscription but I didn't think I needed to. Please share if you have any other mixes like this.
    • p0nce 10y ago
      Currently in my "mixes" folder: - Dmitry Molosh Live @ Just Movement Recyclelounge Gallery Club 44 (Amsterdam July 2th 2016).mp3 - Roger Martinez - Live @ Oh Cha __ Bombay India __ 24-04-2016 Final.mp3 - From Cid Inc again https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRk59Tn-lCk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRk59Tn-lCk I can also recommend the Marcelo Vasami Inception show.
• manishsharan 10y ago
  I find music,even instrumentals, too distracting. I prefer https://www.noisli.com/ https://www.noisli.com/ -- ambient white noise to shut out all distractions and noises in my workplace
• johanbrook 10y ago
  I made a Spotify playlist with songs I like coding to a while back: https://open.spotify.com/user/johanbrook/playlist/2mtlhuFVOFMn6Ho3JmrLc2 https://open.spotify.com/user/johanbrook/playlist/2mtlhuFVOF.... Seemed to have gained some traction.
• diegoloop 10y ago
  I built an App with similar sound effects for iOS which help me to get relaxed and think in different solutions https://appsto.re/de/8PGcfb.i https://appsto.re/de/8PGcfb.i
• Raphmedia 10y ago
  I really, really recommend https://mynoise.net/ https://mynoise.net/ instead of music. They repertoire of sounds is amazing. You can even customize every soundscape to your liking. One of my coworker has a real bassy voice that overlaps over music in my headphones. With that website I can easily create a soundscape that cover his voice and all the surrounding noises. It's free too!
  • travmatt 10y ago
    Calling musicforprogramming music in the sense that you're probably imaging isn't quite accurate. It's much more of a soundscape.
• logotype 10y ago
  I've been listening to autechre for the last 20 years. Great programming music.
• zos 10y ago
  This is run by a friend of mine, John Datassette (not real name). He's a bomb game dev, squirty electro peacock and all round Little Lord. Check out his fiendishly hard game "Space Rubbish": https://datassette.bandcamp.com/album/space-rubbish-game-ost https://datassette.bandcamp.com/album/space-rubbish-game-ost I made one of those mixes. Guess which one and i'll fax you some handmade congratulations.
  • makmanalp 10y ago
    Wow! The Datassette album is one of my favourites - Minus Fourteen is the first song on one of my favourite work playlists.
    • mind_heist 10y ago
      I have bumped into his name so many times , but never once though it was a made up name ! Is he a game dev himself ? Can I ask for the list of games he made , would love to check them out .
      • zos 10y ago
        Yeah, he puts all his game stuff out here http://slakinov.com/ http://slakinov.com/. But I think his server is still down after Hacker News crushed it, ha.
• erikbye 10y ago
  This youtube channel has some nice stuff. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnFdFrniZSg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnFdFrniZSg
• Drisc0 10y ago
  This is the playlist I've been using with great success. https://open.spotify.com/user/128017147/playlist/45LpllYld7SciJQcxWkY2g https://open.spotify.com/user/128017147/playlist/45LpllYld7S...
• Drisc0 10y ago
  This is the playlist I've been using https://open.spotify.com/user/128017147/playlist/45LpllYld7SciJQcxWkY2g https://open.spotify.com/user/128017147/playlist/45LpllYld7S...
  • IWillScoop 10y ago
    Emancipator, Tycho, Bonobo. Good stuff!
• eth0up 10y ago
  http://www.concertzender.nl/en/ http://www.concertzender.nl/en/ One of my favs, for any task or absence of.
• evo_9 10y ago
  I like to random these Kompakt Pop Ambient records early in the day, all instrumental type of thing. https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=pop+ambient https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=pop+ambient
• wiredearp 10y ago
  I have favorited about a month worth of continuous listening on Soundcloud [1] but I hardly ever listen to it because there's something new presented in my Stream every day. The trick to Soundcloud as a steady source for programming music is to follow other users (for programming music you'll want mixes instead of tracks, so follow DJs instead of musicians), but it does take some time to build your Following list and it also takes some commitment to scan through the music every day. When that becomes a distraction, I just turn on SomaFM as mentioned by others [2] where my favorite stations are Space Station Soma, Deep Space One and Illinois Street Lounge. [1] https://soundcloud.com/wiredearp/likes https://soundcloud.com/wiredearp/likes [2] http://somafm.com/ http://somafm.com/
• LoSboccacc 10y ago
  I'd like some mixed videogame music, like https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZPilAQ9a3X1m1fivRd6sj1um9mA8WGON https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZPilAQ9a3X1m1fivRd6s... also 8 bit prodigy ain't bad https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUYvPBhvoPyGwG3fKELVNfTdx5UsuN6p0 https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUYvPBhvoPyGwG3fKELVN... and old chiasm albums as well. anything that 'disconnects' me from the surrounding, as I'm extremely attentive to sounds. traditional concentration music usually makes me focus on the music itself.
• rdtsc 10y ago
  Anyone here remembers Philosomatika online radio station? Well it is back as a Radionomy station. http://www.philosomatika.fm/ http://www.philosomatika.fm/ That was my go to place for programming music. I was excited to find it is back. I got the $5/month sans-commercials subscription and am pretty happy with it. SomaFM is great too especially Drone Zone for a quieter slower pace. http://somafm.com/dronezone/ http://somafm.com/dronezone/
  • pmlnr 10y ago
    I really miss philosomatika and nectarine. And last.fm from the old days.
  • thrillseeker 10y ago
    Philosomatika is back?! Thank you!
    • rdtsc 10y ago
      It seems so. Not sure what relationship current maintainers / owner of it has with previous ones but so far for $5 / month I've been getting pretty good music. Worth it to me at least. Some songs from the catalog repeat, but I am ok so far. SomaFM is good too, but found their trance music so so.
• kruhft 10y ago
  kruhft - Listener (2016) iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/ca/album/listener/id1127677466 https://itunes.apple.com/ca/album/listener/id1127677466 BandCamp: http://kruhft.bandcamp.com/album/listener http://kruhft.bandcamp.com/album/listener
• radiorental 10y ago
  I've discovered a lot of new artists, while still being able to focus on work, from http://oem-radio.org/ http://oem-radio.org/
• hasbroslasher 10y ago
  Needs more scaleable, spent ~30s waiting for a plaintext list of mp3s to show up on my screen
• Ar-Curunir 10y ago
  Post-rock is wonderful for concentration: no vocals, but enough crescendos to pump anyone up. If you want quieter post-rock, it's available too.
• fitzroy 10y ago
  I've been listening to Spotify's "Beats to think to" playlist for writing — so much that it has completely skewed all of my other Spotify music recommendations. Obviously, it doesn't completely prevent distractions, as evidenced by reading HackerNews instead of working. ;) Going to try Brain.fm based on this thread though.
• nogbit 10y ago
  I did at one time listen to music while programming, but the last few years I'm more productive when I don't. When I did, any lyrics of any kind would be too distracting. It would have to be really mellow (any genre really).
• deleted 10y ago
  [deleted]
• torkable 10y ago
  you guys killed it :(
• david927 10y ago
  RadioParadise.com has been my go-to for years. Link: http://radioparadise.com http://radioparadise.com
• jpalmer 10y ago
  Video game soundtracks on spotify. Specifically: * Bastion * Fez * Assassins Creed No vocals, just great music designed to keep you focused.
  • tomaspollak 10y ago
    Yes! Video game music also gets me in the zone. If you're into oldschool games you might also enjoy http://muki.io http://muki.io. Pure DOS and MIDI nostalgia. :)
• shawndumas 10y ago
  shameless self promotion I have created music specifically designed to engage/distract the 5 year-old in my mind so that the adult in my mind can actually get work done. The tracks introduce elements in a layered presentation that keeps the content the same but creates emergent properties as the already introduced elements interact with the newly introduced ones. Almost all tracks are at 120 bpm and in the key of C using the pentatonic scale. I find that the result is enough variance to keep the 5 year-old's attention but enough sameness to not engage the adult. (and no I do not have a dissociative identity disorder; it's just a metaphor.) https://soundcloud.com/shawndumas/tracks https://soundcloud.com/shawndumas/tracks ---- edit: I am not smart...
  • yeahboats 10y ago
    You might have meant to link to https://soundcloud.com/shawndumas/tracks https://soundcloud.com/shawndumas/tracks , as the link you provided takes me to "my" tracks, of which I have none. Unless the idea was that I was the creator all along.
    • shawndumas 10y ago
      lol; ty
• mendelsd 10y ago
  Here's some Chinese traditional instrumental music that has a good combination of interest and subtlety - it's low-key and sort of emotionally oblique: http://www.sinicave.com/pd_an_music.cfm http://www.sinicave.com/pd_an_music.cfm (I can't vouch for that vendor, having never used them.)
• slicktux 10y ago
  I checked out brain.fm and it is really good; I enjoyed it while studying but I will not pay for it. I listen to somafm.com drone zone station and defcon station for studying they also have a variety of stations for other occasions and it is ad-free! if you like it donate! Cheers!
• grimmdude 10y ago
  Really want to see what this is but site is still unavailable? Been at the to of HN for a while now...
• kowdermeister 10y ago
  Funny nobody mentioned MixCloud. I love that service, much better than SoundCloud. I'm now listening to this: https://www.mixcloud.com/mirtakinex/veek-luxal/ https://www.mixcloud.com/mirtakinex/veek-luxal/ I totally recommend exploring different genres for coding: - Ambient - Deep house (non vocal) - Dub techno ( https://www.mixcloud.com/joaquinjimenez/ https://www.mixcloud.com/joaquinjimenez/ ) - Techno - Liquid drum and bass (or other sub genres) Or just dig to my favorites :) https://www.mixcloud.com/szasz/favorites/ https://www.mixcloud.com/szasz/favorites/
• siddharth_bhal 10y ago
  Surprised not to see focusmusic.fm You can listen to electronic, downtempo, classic and rain channels. I like electronic while writing code. Link: https://focusmusic.fm/ https://focusmusic.fm/
• imode 10y ago
  https://mynoise.net/ https://mynoise.net/ is also an interesting website. not just for programming, but for relaxation. I use it to daydream when it's nasty outside. quite fun!
• accraze 10y ago
  Awesome! I made mix #21 under the name Idol Eyes a couple years back, cool see this site is still going strong :)
• b3b0p 10y ago
  My favorites while programming are 80/90's rock, pop, hip-hop music I am familiar with or video game music via OCRemix [1] or Rainwave [2]. I also enjoy using Sirius XM when I can't decide what to listen to. My favorite stations are Backspin and XMU. [1] http://ocremix.org http://ocremix.org [2] https://rainwave.cc https://rainwave.cc
• gcr 10y ago
  I love Virtual Dream Plaza for this kind of music. https://virtualdreamplaza.bandcamp.com/ https://virtualdreamplaza.bandcamp.com/ Each work is 30 minutes long. The time just melts away when I put one on.
• vram22 10y ago
  Here is one album and artist that I like: Music video: Sitar - Vilayat Khan - Rarely Heard Ragas: http://jugad2.blogspot.in/2013/10/music-video-sitar-vilayat-khan-rarely.html http://jugad2.blogspot.in/2013/10/music-video-sitar-vilayat-... I had bought the CD quite a while ago, and like it. Very relaxing to listen to while programming; it is quiet, melodious, almost meditative sitar music, except for a few parts which are slightly louder, near the end, IIRC. A few people also told me they liked it, after reading the above post. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qim2av-SRwU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qim2av-SRwU https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sitar https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sitar https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vilayat_Khan https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vilayat_Khan
• makmanalp 10y ago
  I was having a conversation with someone about this yesterday. I actually have two different modes when programming: Theres times when you're just trying to get a bunch of shit done and there it's mostly about getting you amped up and to stop you from getting stuck on trivial shit, and there's times when you have to think about something in super super detail and then distraction is a killer. And I have different music for each. For the former, I have stuff like this: https://play.spotify.com/user/infralite/playlist/0FUJY4gSuBO9S0LCDonOBl?play=true&utm_source=open.spotify.com&utm_medium=open https://play.spotify.com/user/infralite/playlist/0FUJY4gSuBO... and https://play.spotify.com/user/infralite/playlist/1SpbGdZGmno2qP0IqL9VKY?play=true&utm_source=open.spotify.com&utm_medium=open https://play.spotify.com/user/infralite/playlist/1SpbGdZGmno... For the latter, I go for quiet personally, or turn the volume way down and put on something chill that I know really well. When it's familiar my mind doesn't get stuck on the music too much. I like Ephemeris from H.U.V.A Network, or some Boards of Canada or some Darkjazz (like Kilimanjaro Darkjazz Ensemble or Bohren & Der Club of Gore). Also, counterintuitively, there is a lot of metal that goes well with this too. Here is one example: https://open.spotify.com/user/infralite/playlist/6xHbGt1MGWaXiqru9bD5U4 https://open.spotify.com/user/infralite/playlist/6xHbGt1MGWa... I love music suggestions so feel free to reply with some!
  • IWillScoop 10y ago
    Here's a playlist of Chill Hop songs I've found over the year: https://open.spotify.com/user/iwillscoop/playlist/2kyAGCBe20RgmiC7Wfva1H https://open.spotify.com/user/iwillscoop/playlist/2kyAGCBe20...
    • makmanalp 10y ago
      This is awesome! Thank you! I love the vibe. I knew about Tokimonsta and Fat Jon (Soundgirl Personal is an awesome song) but the rest is super new to me. Also Emancipator is in there which I love and completely forgot about - not quite hiphop though :) Check out Sketches in Colour by Kaiori Breathe for something cool like Emancipator-ish. You probably know about Nujabes, but specifically check out the Samurai Champloo soundtrack! Also for something slightly different but close vibe to that playlist, check out Zero Seven!
• BurningFrog 10y ago
  Programming music needs to be 1. Wordless 2. High energy I know no better implementation than the Juno Reactor page on Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/juno-reactor1 https://soundcloud.com/juno-reactor1
• jyriand 10y ago
  I'm listening mostly this playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLETGndYxbsUUM0Y_sp1VWd9xuQsPnaxcz https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLETGndYxbsUUM0Y_sp1VW...
• solutionyogi 10y ago
  I am late to the party, love all the suggestions especially brain.fm. My go to has been the Spotify playlist called 'Beats To Think To'. It's non vocal, electronic repetitive beats. This is the only play list which worked for me. It used to be part of the 'Focus' play list group but was removed from there for some reason. https://play.spotify.com/user/spotify_germany/playlist/2nKFnGNFvHX9hG5Kv7Bm3G https://play.spotify.com/user/spotify_germany/playlist/2nKFn...
• fapjacks 10y ago
  Carbon-Based Lifeforms all day every day. Solar Fields. Tycho. Aes Dana. Loscil. Asura. Miktek. Sync24 (side project of one of the CBL dudes). HUVA Network (side project of Solar Fields + Aes Dana). Cell.
• flinty 10y ago
  The music to code by series from the dotnetrocks guys is real good too
• ScottBurson 10y ago
  My favorite music for programming is the ambient music of Lucette Bourdin [0] [1]. Horse Heaven, the first album listed on [0], is one of her best and a great starting point if you're new to her music. I like her work because it is (with only a few exceptions) undistracting, yet has enough variety that if I do choose to tune into it for a few moments, it's pleasant. There's lots of other good stuff on the Earth Mantra site as well -- and the price is right :-) [0] http://relaxedmachinery.com/earthmantra/artist-detail.php?id=17 http://relaxedmachinery.com/earthmantra/artist-detail.php?id... [1] http://www.lbourdin.com/ http://www.lbourdin.com/
  • dukoid 10y ago
    Agreed that undistracting ambient is the best coding music :) My favorite bands / albums are - AES Dana: Leylines, Perimeters and Pollen - Astropilot: Solora Walk 2, 3 - Carbon Based Life forms: Hydroponic Garden, Refuge, Twentythree, World of Sleepers - Connect.Ohm: 9980 - H.U.V.A. Network: Ephemeris - MIKTEK: Elsewhere - Solar Fields: Mirror's Edge, Movements, Origin #1 & 2, Random Friday, Until we Meet the Sky - Stellardrone: Echoes, Invent the Universe, Light Years, A Moment of Stillness, On a Beam of Light, Sublime - Zero Cult: Where Rivers Have No Name
• chewxy 10y ago
  My favourite musics are those without human voices as they tend to interfere with my thought processes. These are my top 10 most played pieces in the past 30 days: * Hand Covers Bruise (Social Network OST) * 3.14 Every Night (Social Network OST) * 3.1415... (PoI OST) * God Mode (PoI OST) * Watching with Ten Thousand Eyes (PoI OST) * Listening with A Million Ears (PoI OST) * The Red Capes are Coming (BvS OST) * Must There Be A Superman? (BvS OST) * This is My World (BvS OST) * Francesca da Rimini (Tchaikovsky) Fascinating pattern there.
• brosky117 10y ago
  I'm all about Chillstep. Repetitive beats and sparse lyrics helps me focus like a champ. I've converted several coworkers to it over the years.
  • ivm 10y ago
    Yes, chillstep is a great genre because it has quite consistent mood and tempo. Here's one of the best collections: https://www.youtube.com/user/Pulse8Music https://www.youtube.com/user/Pulse8Music
• pokemon-trainer 10y ago
  MrSuicideSheep Burning Snowflakes on infine loop https://youtube.com/watch?v=wGS8gYDIzPw https://youtube.com/watch?v=wGS8gYDIzPw
• asciihacker 10y ago
  William Basinski "Watermusic II" is wonderful!
• Kerollmops 10y ago
  It remind me of the FTL OST Good for programming too !
• finishingmove 10y ago
  How great. Can't wait for "Music for tech-savvy young adults with interest in retro games" or "Music for Asian women aged 35-45". Before these industry-disrupting services emerge though, I guess I'll just stick to music that I like.
  • beefsack 10y ago
    Critical comments are fantastic when they add insight to the conversation, but all you seem to be adding is cynicism.
  • tedajax 10y ago
    I appreciate that someone else made this comment. I've always just listened to music I want to listen to. Any attempt to use "focus" music or whatever is just annoying. I know people don't like the cynicism but honestly this stuff is pseudo-science at best.
    • travmatt 10y ago
      These tracks work like a charm for me. Im the type to be easily distracted by actual music, so the kind of ambient soundscapes this provides are much closer to a pleasant white noise or rainfall. It's also trained my brain in a way to flip into programming mode
• gtirloni 10y ago
  I've been listening to a band called "Ratatat" lately and it's awesome for focusing.
• pmlnr 10y ago
  Dark psy.
• mchristoff 10y ago
  This is cool and all, but I encourage you all to just find artists you like and follow them on soundcloud / mixcloud / youtube. There is a ton of great electronic music out there that aids in concentration but is actually fun to listen to. I'm not sure how everyone settled on really slow and droney music being great for programming. I find it pretty boring (no offense to the author). Try Dixon or Four Tet to start: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LU18BJunVk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LU18BJunVk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ca6pjR2TLns https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ca6pjR2TLns
• bettyx1138 10y ago
  my 'Background muzik 4 werk' playlist on Spotify. i do ux not programming, but it's still excellent imho. https://open.spotify.com/user/121178959/playlist/310BbsmKb79BdmvphX0qtE https://open.spotify.com/user/121178959/playlist/310BbsmKb79...
• mikebay 10y ago
  I use @lecandylab radio. Its tech house mixture with smooth sound..
• edem 10y ago
  You might want to look at [focus@will](https://www.focusatwill.com/app/pages/v3oi https://www.focusatwill.com/app/pages/v3oi) which worked pretty well for me in the past (and still is).
• jonathankoren 10y ago
  Not enough True Black Metal. Fail. Seriously, all these things end up as personal preferences and whatever fad is in now. Techno? Whatev. When I was in school, it was industrial. All this talk about how it helps "focus" or "brain" or whatever is just scam babble.
• givankin 10y ago
  It seems that no one has mentioned this so I'll add. There was a study back in the 1960s which has shown that listening to music was actually detrimental to programmers' productivity. The results were kind of popularized in the book Peopleware and by Joel Spolsky (see e.g. here: https://www.quora.com/How-accurate-is-Joel-Spolskys-assertion-that-programmers-are-limited-mentally-when-they-listen-to-music-while-coding https://www.quora.com/How-accurate-is-Joel-Spolskys-assertio...). My personal experience confirms this. While I can successfully fix things or TDD something I already have a good reasoning about while listening to music, more difficult programming tasks require more focus which I can get only in silent conditions (which may be hard to find, alas). The most important thing with music to me is that it shouldn't capture my mind. In other words, I shouldn't be noticing it. There is a nice tool I've successfully been using for years: https://www.focusatwill.com/ https://www.focusatwill.com/, it looks like no one has mentioned it yet also. It is paid (though cheap) and it helps me tremendously, especially in noisy environments (office). They are marketing themselves as science-based, has a few channels, including the ones aimed specifically for those who suffer from ADHD. Their music selection is quite nice and they also take the idea of distractions seriously: if you find a track is distracting you (basically, if you catch yourself actually listening to it instead of focusing on work), you click "Next" and this track will never be played again.
  • mixedCase 10y ago
    I would bet this study is one of the many that fall in our modern "reproducibility crisis". And it's precisely because of what you said. There are many coding activities that don't require a deep level of concentration, and at least in my grand sample of one, my brain seems to recognize these situations, create a sensation of discomfort making me instinctively stop the music. However, I would completely fail to accomplish the previously mentioned tedious tasks if I didn't have something in the background preventing myself from wandering off into the depths of the Internet (and that's with the Go Fucking Work add-on installed).
• Nabi 10y ago
  Found that hypnotic/dub techno works best for deep concentration while programming. Pulsating grooves and lush pads stimulate brain but don't distract. https://coldtearrecords.bandcamp.com/album/vejopatis-versmes https://coldtearrecords.bandcamp.com/album/vejopatis-versmes https://soundcloud.com/rich-people-cheap-stereos/guest-mix-57-ntogn https://soundcloud.com/rich-people-cheap-stereos/guest-mix-5... https://soundcloud.com/radiozora/onthewaytoozoraclaudioprc https://soundcloud.com/radiozora/onthewaytoozoraclaudioprc
• mikebay 10y ago
  Why my comments disapear???
• Lynolix 10y ago
  I'm surprised to see that the ambient artist Stars of the Lid hasn't been mentioned. It makes for good music to sleep, study, program and/or read a book to (most ambient music are unless they delve into the more abstract, avant garde realm). I also like Hakobune and Chihei Hatakeyama. Nice warm tones. And if I'm looking to get my blood pumping a bit, I've never gone wrong from recommendations from here: http://316144.tumblr.com/ http://316144.tumblr.com/ Dance music can be meditative too :)
• hitw 10y ago
  I'm a very long time programmer (job) and bedroom DJ (for fun) - these days I mostly mix electronic tunes that I like to work to and inspire me to sink into that space where everything lines up. Obviously this is a personal journey that works for me, but perhaps this will appeal to some of you too. Link: https://mixcloud.com/williamthowe/ https://mixcloud.com/williamthowe/
• SylvesterCater 10y ago
  Attn... Viewers. My name is Sylvester. Nothing has ever hurt my heart so bad as when I lost my beautiful wife and lovely daughter. I and my wife had some series of quarrels some few months after she had our daughter. Though we was still married we couldn’t always live happily because we will always quarrel on everything until 2014 when she filed for a divorce, we broke up and she left with our daughter. I tried all I could to get my wife back but all yielded no good until I read some comments about Lord Henry of Permanent Spell Cast and his marvelous works of spells. I took is contacts and emailed him directly for help on getting my wife back. I provided all details he required and he helped me cast a love spell from his temple and asked me to wait for some few hours. It was just about 3 hours later after the spell, when I received a call from my wife that she was sorry and we needed to get back as husband and wife. Am so happy now that my wife and daughter are back to me and my family is living happily. Thanks to Lord Henry of permanent spell cast for helping me get back my wife and daughter. For help his contacts are Email: permanentspellcast@gmail.com , permanentspellcast@hotmail.com and Permamentspellcast@yahoo.com WhatsApp: +2348100663964 Website: www.permanentspellcaster.com
• SylvesterCater 10y ago
  Attn... Viewers. My name is Sylvester. Nothing has ever hurt my heart so bad as when I lost my beautiful wife and lovely daughter. I and my wife had some series of quarrels some few months after she had our daughter. Though we was still married we couldn’t always live happily because we will always quarrel on everything until 2014 when she filed for a divorce, we broke up and she left with our daughter. I tried all I could to get my wife back but all yielded no good until I read some comments about Lord Henry of Permanent Spell Cast and his marvelous works of spells. I took is contacts and emailed him directly for help on getting my wife back. I provided all details he required and he helped me cast a love spell from his temple and asked me to wait for some few hours. It was just about 3 hours later after the spell, when I received a call from my wife that she was sorry and we needed to get back as husband and wife. Am so happy now that my wife and daughter are back to me and my family is living happily. Thanks to Lord Henry of permanent spell cast for helping me get back my wife and daughter. For help his contacts are Email: permanentspellcast@gmail.com , permanentspellcast@hotmail.com and Permamentspellcast@yahoo.com WhatsApp: +2348100663964 Website: www.permanentspellcaster.com
• SylvesterCater 10y ago
  Attn... Viewers. My name is Sylvester. Nothing has ever hurt my heart so bad as when I lost my beautiful wife and lovely daughter. I and my wife had some series of quarrels some few months after she had our daughter. Though we was still married we couldn’t always live happily because we will always quarrel on everything until 2014 when she filed for a divorce, we broke up and she left with our daughter. I tried all I could to get my wife back but all yielded no good until I read some comments about Lord Henry of Permanent Spell Cast and his marvelous works of spells. I took is contacts and emailed him directly for help on getting my wife back. I provided all details he required and he helped me cast a love spell from his temple and asked me to wait for some few hours. It was just about 3 hours later after the spell, when I received a call from my wife that she was sorry and we needed to get back as husband and wife. Am so happy now that my wife and daughter are back to me and my family is living happily. Thanks to Lord Henry of permanent spell cast for helping me get back my wife and daughter. For help his contacts are Email: permanentspellcast@gmail.com , permanentspellcast@hotmail.com and Permamentspellcast@yahoo.com WhatsApp: +2348100663964 Website: www.permanentspellcaster.com
• rhlala 10y ago
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQNtTW2sIqE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQNtTW2sIqE DF!
• theRhino 10y ago
  everyone programmer knows that the only track you need is Oxygène Part IV by jean michelle jarre - no further questions your honour
• galaktor 10y ago
  I've been a happy paying user of focus@will [0] for a few years now. Works very well for me. [0] https://www.focusatwill.com https://www.focusatwill.com
• vosthyr 10y ago
  I like the website. Nice style. Interesting music. But why did you use an if-then-else statement and needlessly reassign task to task, where a simple if-then would have been sufficient to initialize task if undefined?